"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul . . ." ~Emily Dickinson

01 December 2005

World Aids Day

Eunice is Isaac's mother. He's about 30 years old. I do not know Eunice's age. They both are HIV+ and ridiculed daily in their Johannesburg community. Surely Isaac slept with his mother and passed it on to her, people say.

Kevin is married in a South Carolina town. He has to reveal to his wife that he contracted HIV from someone else.

Angeline is frail and living with HIV. Everyday she cares for other HIV/AIDS patients in her community in Johannesburg, though, walking long, dusty streets in spite of and maybe because of her disease.

Larry, a Britishman, quits his suit-and-tie job and begins educating children--British and South African--about HIV/AIDS after discovering he contracted the disease. MADaboutART was birthed.

These people I've met and millions upon millions of others I will never see live with HIV/AIDS daily. Remember them today and everyday. Pray for them. Write letters encouraging our nation to support them.

People live with and die from AIDS. It's not easy to face this fact. But we must. We must face it each day.

7 comments:

Anonymous
said...

You do realize that HIV/AIDS is a completley PREVENTABLE disease, correct?? Unprotected sex and IV drug use are choices people make (except on the rarest of occasions). I don't understand why a "World AIDS Day" is necessary for something that is completely preventable. Why not a "World Common Cold Day"??

The problem with your opinion, whoever you are, is that in many places where AIDS/HIV is rampant, the people are not fully educated as to how the disease is transmitted. In fact, in certain cultures in Africa, people believe that having sex with a virgin will save their souls. Do they have cable television with "Trojan Man" jingles? NO. Do the babies born to mothers who are HIV positive have unprotected sex or use IV drugs? NO. Did their mothers have cutting edge medicine at their disposal to prevent the transmission of the virus to their babies? NO.

And the reason why we don't have a "World Common Cold Day" is because the common cold does nothing more than inconvenience us--not wipe out whole villages. In addition, people in America are living with HIV due to the availabilty of drugs we have at our disposal. In other countries, they are not afforded with that luxury. SO, this day is so that we will help educate the world as to how the virus can be prevented and also perhaps educate our own citizens that not everyone else in the world is as priveleged as we are--and maybe we should help distribute life-saving drugs to people who cannot afford them.

I know many families and individuals who left everything comfortable to go to places to educate people as to how they can prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading and to take their medical knowledge to places that do not have medical care. That is a noble thing. And world HIV/AIDS day is also a day to applaud those who are doing something proactive about the issue.

Since children screw up their teeth by not brushing and eating too much candy, we should probably get rid of National Children's Dental Health Month in February.

And anorexics certainly destroy their own lives with their disorder, so why don't we just knock National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (the last in Feb) off of the calendar.

And people daily choose not to follow God and live into the ressurrection, so . . . I don't know . . . maybe Sundays are pointless, too!

I appreciate your reading this blog, and I hope you understand that we celebrate days to be aware, educate and help. And does it really matter HOW it is contracted? It's wiping people off the face of this earth. We must face that.

How about a little personal responisbility too?? I'm all for educating. It's what I do. But how about people facing consequences for immorality? No need to bail everyone out of every situation they create for themselves.

First of all, I have no respect for people that post without signing, especially those that flame without their name. If you aren't ashamed of your opinion, put your name behind it.

Second, HIV/AIDS is so complicated by issues of class, race, educational level and, above all, shame. I have campers whose parents won't let them tell anyone what disease they have because of the shame associated with the disease. Do these kids get all the services they need to prevent re-transmission? No. Do their mothers? No.

Who amongst us has not made a mistake? Who doesn't at least have a friend that had a drunken one night stand? Just because a choice might not be ideal, doesn't mean someone deserves a death sentence for it.